The invention of the videocassette recorder (VCR) changed the way people look at television. No longer were people bound to the time slot assigned to a television program by the network: they could tape the show and watch it at a more convenient time. This activity was given legal sanction by the United States Supreme Court in Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, Inc. 
But the ability to record a television program has always been limited by the user's ability to program the VCR. Almost since the day the VCR was first established as a commodity for the average consumer, there have been jokes about people's VCRs constantly blinking “12:00” (indicating the VCR's clock has not been programmed). Unless the clock is accurately programmed, a VCR cannot record a show for the consumer.
In recent years, the manufacturers of VCRs have begun to make the VCR smarter, in an effort to simplify the programming operation. Modern VCR clocks can be programmed by simply setting the VCR to the local public broadcasting station and punching a button. The VCR “contacts” the station and determines the local time. The adoption of VCRPlus® codes has made the task of programming a particular show simpler. The user need only punch in the VCRPlus® code, which the VCR can then translate into a channel, start time, and stop time. (VCRPlus is a registered trademark of Gemstar Development Corporation at the time this document is being filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.)
But with all the advances in VCR technology, there are three significant limitations to the VCR recording the desired show. First, the consumer is beholden to his signal provider to be able to record his desired show. Be it broadcast television, cable, or satellite, if the signal provider decides to change the broadcast time of the show, the VCR's programming does not change, and the wrong program is recorded.
Second, the consumer is dependent on an accurate clock to record the desired show. Because most people's clocks are not accurate (despite serious efforts to keep clocks accurate), most people introduce a “fudge factor” into their programming. Thus, if a program is supposed to be broadcast from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM, most people will program their VCRs to start recording a few minutes before 5:00 PM, and to stop recording a few minutes after 5:30 PM.
Third, even if the consumer's clock is accurate, that is only half of the problem. The signal provider's clock might also be inaccurate. Even when a signal provider says that a show will start at 5:00 PM, that statement might not be accurate. The program might start a little before or after 5:00 PM, depending on the accuracy of the signal provider's clocks. Thus, the consumer has to allow for some inaccuracy in the programming schedule.
Accordingly, a need remains for an improvement to the videocassette recorder and a method to use an improved videocassette recorder that eliminates concern for inaccurate clocks (both by the consumer and the signal provider) and for programming changes by the signal provider.